The Champions' Academy
by Vander Delton
Summary: In the future, Harry and the two other Triwizard Champions have founded their own school for magical learning.  But why?  NO Deathly Hallows spoilers
1. Start Of Term

Hello everyone, once again I, Vander Delton, have done a Harry Potter fan fiction. This is my third fiction concerning Harry Potter and I can only hope it does half as well as my first and doesn't bomb like my second. For those who know my work and enjoy it I thank you and welcome you back. For those who do not, I welcome you all the same and hope I keep your interest. As I said in the summary this story contains no Deathly Hallows spoilers for all you who have not read the book because it is not a take on this story from the end of DH. I wrote most of the main storyline in my head almost a year ago and just never got around to typing it out until now. So for those of you have read the seventh book, rest assured, you won't be reading a bunch of regurgitated DH storyline I'm attempting to pass off as my own. I hope you all enjoy my fic. So, without further ado, The Champions' Academy, enjoy.

**Chapter one---Start Of Term**

September the first, for almost eleven centuries it had been the day on which young witches and wizards started or continued their magical education and this year's would be no different. She, of course, had not left the school over the brief summer. She, like so many of her schoolmates lived at the castle year-round and therefore tomorrow's start of term was a mere return to a life of classes and homework. Though, perhaps "a mere return" was the wrong way to describe what would be taking place the following day. After all she would be a sixth year as of tomorrow morning and would start down the most grueling path that led to the toughest End-Of-Year Exams she would endure outside those of her final two years. She was ready for such a path and knew that there was little chance of her failing. The school had always had the best teachers from around the world, there was no denying that, and there had only been one student to ever fail their sixth year exams in the school's forty years; and he came back and passed with flying colors the next year, moreover she had been ranked 5th in her year the previous year; a personal best.

She stood before the small mirror on the wall beside her bed spending that day as she always did, preparing to look her best for the arrival of her classmates and that night's start of term feast.

It was mid day and her reason for being in front of her mirror was that she was trying to decide which of her ribbons looked best with her shoulder-blade length, shiny yellow-blonde hair that she had done tightly in a complicated and flattering five-strand braid. She did not ordinarily spend as much time on her hair as she had today, but then she did not ordinarily go almost two months without seeing Rudolph either. They had met in her first year and this had been the first summer that he had chosen to spend with his father rather than with her. This meant that she was left, most unfortunately, to whittle away the holiday without Rudolph or her other two best friends whom also had family members to visit over the summer. She finally decided on a wide, sage green silk ribbon, which she tied in a bow around her braid.

She stepped back from the mirror and examined the effect, straining to turn her head sideways to view it properly; and it looked fantastic if she said so herself.

"Well, aren't we all dolled up!" said someone from the dormitory door, their southern American accent giving away the identity of the speaker immediately. "You didn't have to get dressed up on my accounts, Cedrea."

"It's not for you, Jesse, as you perfectly well know. And you're not supposed to be in here!" said Cedrea, turning to face him.

Jesse was tall and very scrawny, a fact mostly hidden by the dark blue school robes he was wearing, a bear with a waving banner in its mouth embroidered on the left breast. Jesse was a seventh year prefect that had been born in America to muggles who used to own a farm. He had been brought to the Academy by the Headmaster personally, meaning that he had exceptional magical talent, and sure enough he proved that he did and he was never shy about proclaiming it either. And though the school in large part was practically in love with him (especially the girls), Cedrea had always found him to be rather pompous and thought he was the only Muggleborn she had ever met that she didn't like.

"Yes, yes, I'm not supposed to be in any of the girl's dormitories what with me being a boy and all that, but…" Jesse was saying and Cedrea quickly cut him off.

"No! I meant being in our tower. Just because you can finagle the password out of one of the Portraits or one of those prattling little girls doesn't mean you have the right to come up here whenever you please! Or at all!" Cedrea said, heatedly. This was precisely one of the things she disliked about him.

"Oh, that, it's probably true. But you know I only come up when I know most everyone's gone and I won't be seen, besides, I just came up to see if Sunny had arrived yet but it doesn't look like she has."

"No, she hasn't. See you got an early ticket as always."

"Well they have to get the best and brightest here first." Jesse said, running a hand through his short brown hair with a look that clearly implied he thought he was the very best. "I'll see you at the feast."

Jesse walked out of the dormitory and closed the door with a snap, Cedrea turned towards her bed as she sighed and rolled her eyes. She just couldn't understand what Sunny could possibly see in Jesse that would compel her to go out with the prick, not that she was going to tell her this.

Cedrea checked her hair in the mirror a last time and changed into her own dark blue school robes, making sure to vanish all the lint and dust they had gathered over the last month, before setting off to lunch.

Cedrea ate lunch alone as she was now accustomed to eating every meal, since aside from her friends being gone, her house, Potter, was always the most diminished of the three house tables over the holidays. Though the enchanted ceiling certainly seemed to be as excited as she was about the start of term with the sun shining directly overheard in the cloudless sky.

After lunch she took her time walking over to the library to brush up on some transfiguration as she had run into the transfiguration Professor the previous day and had been given a strong hint that there would be a thorough review in their first lesson. This did not prove very productive however as she _happened _to find a seat next to a large west facing window that gave her a clear and wide view of the grounds all the way to the sea. She subsequently spent the next two hours repeatedly following the flagstone road with her eyes from the castle to the dock where the main throng of students would be arriving and hoping that Kelly, Rudolph, and Donlan would be on one of the first boats. She then spent the next forty-five minutes trying for what had to be the hundredth time to figure out where exactly she was. She knew, as did every other student, that the school was located on a small island hundreds of miles from the nearest land mass and that the island was only about five miles in length by about two and a half miles in breadth, but that was about all they knew. Only the Professors and the last year students were privy to precisely where they were; and there were not a lot of clues to aid in the investigative pursuits of anyone else.

By four-thirty that afternoon Cedrea had managed to force herself to at least start skimming halfheartedly through a Transfiguration book with highly detailed illustrations of many poorly transmuted objects including some that had gone terribly wrong; she took little of this in. Finally at five o'clock she gave up on reminding herself of anything she had learned, returned the book to the shelf she had retrieved it from and set off for the entrance hall to await the arrival of the first boats.

As expected, the entrance hall was filled with almost every occupant of the castle except for most of the professors, all heading to the front steps to catch a glimpse of the boats as they arrived.

Not being of the tallest stature, Cedrea found a nice spot on the topmost step to get the best possible view. She looked around those surrounding her, curious to see who else had come back early and found a few she knew by sight only, a few in her year that she liked such as Patrick Macmillan , and then others she knew only as friends of others. Jesse, she was most disappointed to see, had purposely wadded his way through the crowd to stand directly next to her with a couple of his friends which she liked none more than him.

"So, guess what it is that I heard?" Jesse whispered to Cedrea and a scowl overtook her face; she had so hoped that he wouldn't talk to her.

"Oh, do tell! What have heard this time?" Cedrea said, keeping her tone level since Professor Grubbyplank was just a few feet from them and she didn't want to get a talking to.

"Well since you're so interested. I heard from a very reliable source that Sunny, Conners and Polov are all on the second boat." Jesse said with a mischievous smile that meant he was not supposed to know who were on what boat; and in spite of herself Cedrea smiled.

"Thank you for that." She said, trying to keep how delighted she was off her face though the pleased smirk on Jesse's face indicated that she had done much to the opposite.

Thirteen minutes of ignoring Jesse's constant attempts to start up a conversation between the two of them about everything from who he thought would win the school Quidditch cup that year to what kind of food was likely to be served for the feast; and a thick wall of fog began to drift slowly toward the shore and dock half a mile away.

For several minutes the fog lingered, building the anticipation of the onlookers. When it receded back into the sea it left in its place two large boats, one following the other into the dock. Each boat had one tall mast with a solitary pure white sail that was billowed to its fullest extent despite there being very little wind.

Both boats came to a stop on either side of the main jetty and tied themselves securely to it. Students promptly filed out of the boats and onto the dock making for the Threstral drawn carriages that had just arrived. A few students stopping briefly as some often did to give them a quick pat or to feed them a little something before climbing into the carriages. There were few students who could not see the Threstrals and some, like Cedrea, were quite fond of them despite their stigma.

Another six minute's wait and the carriages turned and came to a stop in front of the large wooden doors of the castle and the crowd of impatient students waiting to see if their friends had been on the first boats.

The door of the first carriage opened and an old man with white hair and a severely lined and scared face exited with a cane in his right hand. He directly followed by seven or eight scared and astonished looking eleven-year-olds; first years. The second carriage's door opened soon after the first and much like the first, a man emerged followed by a gaggle of first year students; this man however was tall and young with no visible scars and flaming red hair.

"Come now first years!" the old man from the first carriage said loudly in a strained sounding voice, to get their attention. "You are to follow Mr. Weasley here…" he indicated the young man "…and myself, please do not stray and do not dawdle to look at things, there will be plenty of time to look around and explore everything at a later date."

The old and young man walked to the front of the group of first years and led them up the front steps through the path the older students had quickly made for them; the old man relying heavily on his cane to make it up the stone steps.

The first two carriages were pulled away by the hollow eyed winged beasts to make way for the next two, which were as promptly exited as the ones before; more young students, second and third years. The fifth and sixth carriages possessed more of the same; younger students were always the first to get carriages. The seventh and eighth came and went as did the ninth and tenth, and none had been carrying Kelly and Rudolph; Cedrea was starting to wonder if for the first time Jesse's information had been wrong.

Cedrea looked out towards the dock once again, the second and third pairs of boats had arrived, and there was now a long trail of carriages waiting to unload. She returned her gaze to the carriages to see the eleventh and twelfth emptying and reassured herself that they would be in one of the next ones and that even if they weren't it'd only be another hour until she saw them for sure. And, sure enough, from the fifteenth carriage stepping out just after Sunny was the large figure of Rudolph. Cedrea sighed with delight. In her opinion he had to be the most handsome boy in school, and she could hardly believe he was all hers. Rudolph was tall, had broad shoulders, a strong angular jaw and was in excellent shape even for a beater. For as long as she had known him he had taken great pride in sculpting his body for his pursuits above the Quidditch pitch; and again, in her opinion he had done so to the perfect extent. But then, she did have a bit of a biased view on the subject.

Rudolph was already wearing his school robes along with, most unusually, a matching pointed hat without a brim. He had amazingly stuffed all of his long black hair into the hat so that not a bit of it was showing.

"I'm glad to see you didn't get soft on me while you were away." Cedrea said happily, taking Rudolph off guard by coming up behind him, having taken great care to get down the steps without him seeing her. Easy enough to do given her height. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"And I you!" said Rudolph, his voice gruff.

Cedrea stood on her tip toes and Rudolph bent over a bit so that they could kiss, the top of her head being only about level with his chin.

"Oi, I hope you've brought enough for everyone." A boy said with an Irish accent, stepping out from behind Rudolph and Cedrea threw her arms around her best friend; Kelly Conners.

"I would have gotten to you eventually." said Cedrea, releasing Kelly and taking Rudolph's hand in hers.

"Aye, I'm sure you would have, _eventually_." Kelly said jokingly, heaving his trunk over his shoulder.

Kelly was not much taller than Cedrea, had dirty blonde hair and was slightly stout.

"Come, let's do something, the feast is not for a few hours still." Rudolph suggested, picking up his own trunk from the ground where he had set it a minute before.

"Shouldn't we wait to see if Donlan shows up?" Asked Cedrea thoughtfully; though walking up to the castle through the many hugging pairs and laughing groups with the other two all the same.

"Nah, he's not commin' till tomorrow at least. Don't know why, said he couldn't tell me where e' was going. Just let me know this mornin' as the boats were about ta leave." said Kelly. "Anyway, what's been going – What have you done! – " Cedrea interrupted with a shriek, stopping dead in her tracks halfway across the entrance hall and starring at Rudolph's head. He had just taken off his hat to reveal a very bald scalp.

"You shaved it all off?!" Cedrea said almost heartbroken. Rudolph quickly shoved his hat back on.

"I did, yes, I'm sorry." Rudolph apologized rather sheepishly, Kelly was stifling his laughter. "I know you really liked it, but it was just getting too bothersome to deal with every day."

Cedrea had already released Rudolph's hand and had now crossed her arms and continued walking, a vexed looking Rudolph and an amused looking Kelly walking along behind her.

"Your hair looks beautiful today, though." Rudolph said to Cedrea a moment later, seemingly trying to appease her the first way he could think of. A smile crossed her face at these words; her efforts had not been in vein; even _if_ Rudolph had committed a heinous act on behalf of his own hair.

"So are you excited about being a seventh year?" Cedrea said a few minutes later in the School Common room, staring at Rudolph's head sadly. This was where she spent most of her free time when with Rudolph since he was in Krum. It was a large oval shaped room with three large fireplaces, and plenty of places to sit with a variety of different chairs and sofas to accommodate most anyone. "I mean, of course you'll have to be with all the new options that it opens up to you." She answered her own question.

"Yes, I am, but what I'm most excited about is this!" said Rudolph, pointing to the silver badge he had pinned just below the embroidered bear on his chest that read "_Quidditch Captain_"

"That's fantastic!" Cedrea said, almost jumping to her feet and giving him a broad grin. "I had completely forgotten that Christof graduated last year."

At five minutes until seven, the three friends left the school common room and headed for the feast in the Great Hall. At the entrance Cedrea and Rudolph gave each-other a small peck on the cheek and Rudolph set off for his table and Cedrea and Kelly for theirs, which so happened were at opposite sides of the Hall and separated by the Delacour table.

Cedrea and Kelly sat with a couple of other students from their year, all boys, as there were only three girls in the same year, Cedrea, Sunny, and another girl that hung around with the older girls. Also because Cedrea was a bit of a tomboy except when it came to Rudolph.

The Hall was decorated as was custom, with velvet banners in the three house colors lining the walls in a repeating pattern. The ordinary mass of floating candles had been replaced by ones corresponding to the primary colors of the houses especially for the feast. And, of course, hanging behind the staff table were three massive tapestries lined up perfectly with the three large tables. The tapestry hanging in front of Cedrea's table was crimson and gold with a majestic stag, its head lifted proudly and a banner twisted in its antlers which read: "_Potter_". To its left, before the middle table was a second tapestry of white and powder blue with a wondrous peacock, a banner draped across its wide spread tale, reading: "_Delacour_" To its left was the final tapestry. One of blood-red and black with a mighty rearing bear clutching a flying banner in its mouth that read: "_Krum_"

At the staff table, a round faced Professor with short dark hair stood from his seat near the middle, the two seats to his left were empty, one of which was the high-backed, throne-like chair of the Headmaster. Much of the murmuring in the Hall died away at this site, the rest ceasing as he called for quiet.

"To our returning students, which I'm pleased as always to see there are many, I say welcome back." The Professor said in a very kind tone. "And to our new students…" he motioned with an open hand to the group of first years standing with the old man from the carriage at the head of the house tables near a slightly frayed, pointed hat atop a stool. "…welcome and may your stay here be as peaceful and happy as possible." The crowd of first years was much larger than just those whom had arrived in the first carriages.

"Now, before the sorting gets underway I have a couple more comments. Firstly, many of you will have noticed that Professor Krum is unfortunately not present." This announcement was met by a collective sigh from the students, Professor Krum was well liked. "Nor, I'm afraid to say, is Headmaster Potter. They are both presently away on… _business_…and will not return for a few weeks. Professor Mayamoto will be taking over Curse Studies until Professor Krum's return." Mayamoto nodded at his mention four seats away." Professor Potter's absence was met with much fewer sighs than Krum's and most came from the Potter table.

"Well I'm actually…" Cedrea began whispering to Kelly but abruptly stopped as from the Staff Table came "Excuse me, but I'm talking." A wave of quiet laughter washed through the Hall and Cedrea looked to see the round faced Professor smiling at her and she turned red.

"Secondly, and lastly I suppose," The Professor continued. "As in recent years there will be a list posted in the entrance hall naming those who did not return this year. Should any of you wish to inquire further about the individuals whom did not return to the Academy this year you are welcome to go to your head of house or myself with your questions. And with that said, let the sorting begin."

As if waiting for the Professor's authorization the sorting hat had remained still and silent to this point and an instant after the Professor's words a section of fabric near the brim folded itself into a sort of sock-puppet like mouth and began to speak.

_No songs or stories, I'm sorry to say._

_But should your wish be to hear as such._

_You're best to look my brother's way._

_For those things, time, I have not much._

No clapping or cheering followed the hat's short rhyme and the school waited in moderate silence to see to which house the first years would soon belong.

The old wizard with the first years stepped up next to the stool with the hat and turned to face the three house tables. The old wizard then drew a roll of parchment from inside his robes with the hand that was not occupied by his cane, unrolled it with a flick of his wrist and read the first name. "Burns, Anthony!" he said, his voice tired.

One of the boys nervously approached the stool and once the man had lifted the hat out of his way, he sat down. The man placed the hat on the boy's head and it ran through it's thoughts on making it's decisions, though scarcely aloud, limiting it's public comments mostly to "well, well," and "Interesting". Before long the folded fabric mouth of the hat smiled and announced loudly "-KRUM!-" and the Hall exploded in cheering and clapping; the loudest of which coming from the Krum table.

The process started again with the next on the list, Burns, Bethany, and soon she too had been sorted, going, like her brother, to Krum, and she was welcomed by more applause. It was Carringhton, Marria's turn after that and she went to Delacour. Another name was called as Cedrea leaned close to Kelly, intending to take full advantage of everyone's occupied attention and the sudden bursts of cheering.

"As I was going to say, I'm quite glad Professor Potter isn't going to be around for a few weeks. The fewer chances of running into him the better, I've never liked him." said Cedrea and Kelly made a sound that she thought sounded like he disagreed with her on the matter but wasn't going to start arguing about it. Cedrea didn't press the matter.

What Cedrea said had been the truth, she had always found Professor Potter to be a bitter and harsh old man with anger and intolerance saturating every inch of his being; despite being in his house and being very proud of that fact. In her fourth year he had taken over temporarily the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts and though they were some of the best lessons she had ever had, she dreaded every of his lessons for the three weeks he had taught; for the first time disliking one of her favorite subjects. Since then he had filled in twice more but for far shorter terms. She had found him a quite unpleasant teacher all three times. That he was mean and bitter aside, he was still one of the greatest wizards that had ever lived, some said the greatest since Merlin himself. She just hoped that having similar characteristics to him wouldn't mean that she ended up like him when she was old.

She came back to paying attention to the sorting just in time to hear "-POTTER-" and started clapping and cheering loudly with everyone else. She looked quickly to see who had been sorted into Potter and saw a bushy haired girl scurrying over to the house table, still wearing the sorting. The Hall shared a hearty laugh, particularly the round faced professor; the girl quickly returned it. Cedrea paid very little attention to the sorting after this, clapping when she heard the rest of the Hall clap and only listening for the name of her house so she knew when to clap louder; she had never much cared for the sorting.

Finally, some thirty minutes later, the sorting ended with Yo, Yao going to Delacour and the younger wizard from the carriages with the flaming red hair carried the stool and hat out of the hall as the old wizard headed for the staff table.

Once again the round faced Professor stood and this time said but one simple thing "tuck in".

Hundreds of silver platters and pitchers containing a wide selection of foods and drink from all across the world appeared on the tables in front of the students and Cedrea instantly grabbed for her fork to transfer some boiled potatoes to her plate. The Hall was suddenly filled with noise again with the scratching of silverware against dishes and the dull roar of a hundred jumbled conversations.

Cedrea and Kelly laughed at the site of a second year having their hand slapped away by the pitcher of mead they had unknowingly reached for. Both ate heartily, the food was never as good the rest of the year as it was during the Start-Of-Term feast or Christmas so they took full advantage of it. Cedrea was careful to make sure she had enough room for a piece of pie or two for desert and the bottomless pit that was Kelly just kept helping himself to more helpings; he could eat more than any other person she had ever known. In fact she sometimes wondered if he didn't have hollow legs which he stored extra food in.

Kelly was finishing the remains of his fourth serving and Cedrea was almost finished with her second when the dinner dishes vanished to be replaced by just as many filled with every sort of desert one could wish for. Cedrea immediately looked around for the cherry pie, her favorite; next to her, Kelly began unceremoniously taking portions of deserts and dropping them on his plate.

"Attention!" The entire Hall froze mid motion, Cedrea with her hand hovering over the pie and Kelly with a tart halfway into his mouth. The round-faced Professor was on his feet. There was a piece of parchment clenched in his hand and a grave look about his face.

"I'm afraid the feast will have to end early," he snapped his fingers and all desert was gone, including the tart in Kelly's hand. "Likewise, you are all to go to your dormitories early rather than having a bit more time to fraternize. I apologize but it is necessary. Prefects, please lead your houses the appropriate dormitories. I ask of you all not to wonder the castle tonight for any reason, it is of the greatest importance, thank you."

A certain amount of grumbling spread through the students, though none were complaining outright and all were rising calmly from their seats and following the prefects that had congregated at the door. Rudolph smiled and gave Cedrea a weak wave as the Krums and Potters passed each other.

After reaching the Potter common room Cedrea went directly up to bed much earlier than she normally would have and consequently lay awake for almost two hours before falling asleep. Her only solace for missing her favorite desert that she got only once or twice a year was that whenever the feast was cut short it was made up for at the next day's dinner. What could have happened, however, to give the professor such a grave look?


	2. Missing a Friend

Okay, I've finally got the second chapter for your enjoyment. I'm sorry it took so long, my computer got infected with a ton of viruses and it took a while for it to get worked out. Anyway, this chapter isn't exciting or flashy but its a chapter I needed to get you all more aquainted with my new characters and set up some later things in the story and get the story progressing. Nevertheless, I think you will all still enjoy this chapter as it gives some more information and the like so please leave your thoughts. So without further ado, the next chapter, enjoy.

**Chapter two---Missing a Friend**

Next morning Cedrea awoke to a loud tapping on the dormitory window and saw a large grey owl sitting on the outside sill with a letter in its beak, waiting to be let in. Recognizing it immediately as Rudolph's, Cedrea bound out of bed and quickly opened the window; the other occupants of the dormitory thanking her for stopping the racket in half-asleep murmurs.

The owl fluttered in and landed on her bed, holding its beak up expectantly. Cedrea rummaged in the drawer of her night stand, retrieved an owl treat, tossed it onto the bed and took the letter from the grateful owl.

She opened Rudolph's letter excitedly, wondering what it could be about to send it so early and was very pleased to see that he wanted to meet in the great hall so they could have an early breakfast and take it along with them on a walk. Rather than eating alone at their separate tables before going to their morning classes which they did not even share since he was a year ahead of her.

She carried the large gray owl back to the window with the hastily written response of "_Be there in a few minutes_" clamped in its beak.

Cedrea hurried over to her wardrobe and withdrew a fresh pair of school robes. Not wanting to keep Rudolph waiting, she brushed the braid of the previous night out of her hair and pulled it instead into a simple ponytail before pulling on her robes and hurrying out of the dormitory. She had to admit that spending time with Rudolph was not the only reason she was so inclined to the idea.

She knew from Kelly that Donlan wasn't coming, for whatever reason, until today. She assumed that he would be arriving relatively soon since the teacher's wouldn't want him missing the first day of the term. And she was hoping that he would do so while they were walking so she could be the first to greet him. Rudolph was more interested on taking a quick look at the Quidditch pitch, however. He had been told by one of his fellow Krums that there had been a terrible storm a week ago that had done the pitch considerable damage. And although Cedrea had told him the pitch was in a dilapidated state at the moment and that the Grounds Keeper had guaranteed to have it in prime condition for the first Quidditch game of the season he still insisted on seeing it for himself.

"Would you look at this? It's terrible!" said Rudolph upon seeing the Quidditch pitch with its many wrecked benches, a couple broken fifty-foot high hoops, and a badly torn up field.

The two, Rudolph in the lead, walked onto the field itself, the better to get a closer look at the damage. Rudolph turned in circles, transfixed, wanting to grasp the true scope of the damage, and becoming more horror struck by his each revolution. He had seemingly forgotten that the two of them were supposed to be having a nice walking breakfast together. This was made evident when Rudolph absentmindedly dropped the piece of toast in his hand.

Unlike her presently neglectful boyfriend, Cedrea was not entirely sure what the big deal was. The pitch had been damaged, it had since been guaranteed to be repaired to new so the issue, in her mind, was resolved and no longer a matter of much importance. It was not even as if the pitch was not important to her, indeed it was very important to her as she too played for her house team. She was not as good a player as he was; he having been hailed by many as one of the best beaters in two centuries and she being merely an above average seeker. However, she didn't see how that should matter, and she wasted no time telling him as such; to which he distractedly replied. "Yes, but it is different for me. Because I…" his sentence trailed off from there, becoming more of a mumbled rant.

Cedrea allowed Rudolph a few minutes to fret over his _felled friend_, all the while watching him crossly, before she strongly suggested that they continue their walk. They did so soon thereafter.

After they left the pitch they spent the remainder of their time, which wasn't long, walking around the edge of the forest. Cedrea had hoped she would see a Threstral along the way but she did not have the luck. She had liked them from her first day at the Champion's Academy and always enjoyed running into them on her many walks about the grounds. She thought it was probably for the best that she hadn't, while she was with Rudolph at least. _He_ had never liked them despite not being able to see them and for the past two years he had simply loathed them for constantly reminding him of his mother.

As they neared the vegetable patch and the greenhouses a chorus of many bells rang from one of the upper towers indicating that classes would be starting in five minutes which put Cedrea in prime condition to be late as the greenhouses were at the back of the castle and her first class was at the opposite end near the front doors. Cedrea gave Rudolph a hurried kiss on the cheek and took off running into the castle, disappointed with herself that she had lost track of time and would now not only be late but also had no idea whether Donlan had arrived. As she came to the Entrance Hall she went to double check her schedule to make sure she was headed to the right lesson when she realized that she had left it up in her dormitory on top of her chest where it had appeared that morning. Along with, she realized with another disappointment in herself, her school bag containing all her books, parchment, ink and quills.

Cedrea sighed with annoyance and quickly changed course, now heading for Potter tower; she was going to be very late.

Nearly fifteen minutes later Cedrea stopped outside the Transfiguration classroom door, worn out and completely breathless. She checked her watch; she was almost a half hour late. Why did the castle have to be so big? It was not even as if there were enough students and teachers to occupy all of the space they had.

Cedrea pushed the door open as quietly as she could, hoping to get in and get to the seat Kelly had undoubtedly saved for her without being noticed by the Professor. She usually gave a long speech on the first day and she might be preoccupied enough not to notice. This hope went un-granted, however.

She had barely gotten two steps from the door when the professor's voice rang clear from the front of the room addressing Cedrea. "How nice of you to finally join us, Miss Diggory." Cedrea turned to face the stern-faced professor with pursed lips at this tart statement.

"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall." said Cedrea, turning red with the eyes of the whole class on her. "I was walking and lost track of time."

"I trust you have not lost the pocket watch issued to you by this school, the one all students are supposed to carry on their person at all times." said Professor McGonagall, still tart.

"No ma'am." Cedrea replied.

"Very good, then I assume that your lateness will not happen again and that there will be no need for me to turn you into a watch yourself so you may be on time."

"No ma'am."

"Very good, please take your seat. Mr. Conners has been saving you one."

"Yes ma'am."

She did not need to be told twice and didn't hesitate in taking her seat. Professor McGonagall returned to what sounded to be the end of her speech, paying no more attention to the back row of desks where Cedrea was how sitting, trying to catch every word.

Professor McGonagall was by far the oldest teacher in the school and one of the best. Everything about her seemed to exude wisdom, from her snow-white hair pulled into a neat bun and lined face to her manner of dress. She was also one of only a handful of teachers that had been with the Academy since its inception and one of even fewer that had actually taught at Hogwarts.

"Now," Professor McGonagall said after the conclusion of her speech. "Our classes will begin this term with a review of what you have learnt up through the last five years." She flicked her wand and seven, double-sided pages of review questions appeared in-front of each student to a collective groan. "These reviews will give me an accurate idea of where your knowledge of transfiguration is most wanting and where each of you is the strongest so I may plan your studies this year accordingly. As I said, your sixth year end-of-term exams are very important, so this information is crucial. We have a good hour and twenty-five left, that should give all of you sufficient time to finish, for those who don't I want it completed and on my desk first thing tomorrow morning. Begin."

Cedrea withdrew a bottle of ink and her favorite quill and set to the review. It started off simple enough, asking questions requiring first year knowledge but it quickly switched track and Cedrea soon found herself raking her brains to remember incantations and terms. At seven minutes till ten Cedrea was working on the second to last question and was getting nowhere with it. She could not remember, though knowing it was a simple answer, what the name of the term was for transfiguring one animal into another. Five minutes till ten. It finally came to her, _Anication_, or something similar; she knew at least that it began with _ani_. Perhaps that would be enough to get her some points.

She quickly jotted down her unsure answer and moved on to the last question; there were barley two minuets until the end of class. Fortunately the final question was one she was quite familiar with and she answered without a second thought.

"Quills down!" Professor McGonagall announced to the room at large an instant before the bells rang, greeted by murmured disappointment. "Please pass your papers to the front."

"So did you finish it?" Kelly asked Cedrea as they headed for their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Yes, but only just. I was stuck on the second to last question for forever." Cedrea replied. "What about you?"

"O' course I did, though, didn't remember the answers ta half the questions so I just guessed at most o' them. But, finished in plenty o' time, didn't I?"

"Oh that's a brilliant plan to get top marks." Cedrea said in a reproachful tone.

"Your friend is right, ma'dear, you really shouldn't guess on something as important as your studies."

"Don't you think it's a bit rude ta be listenin' in on other people's conversations?" Kelly said, stopping in-front the portrait of an older woman in a Victorian-style gown. Her frame was battered and the top right corner of her painting had been burnt away.

"Well yes, if you're still alive, or even a ghost, but I am neither." The portrait said cheerily. "I've been dead almost three-hundred years and I've been confined to paintings ever since. Besides, what else are we poor oils supposed to do all day?"

Cedrea saw Kelly open his mouth to further his view and she quickly grabbed his arm and muttered "Come on!".

"I can't believe you." Cedrea said, letting go of his arm a little ways down the corridor. "You were actually going to stand there and argue with her and make me late for two classes in a row."

"If ya' hadn't been out lollygagin' with dear Rudolph you wouldn't have been late for Transfiguration and you'd be able ta afford ta be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts and in turn I would have had time ta argue with the old girl. So really, you owe me." Kelly said with a laugh, quite pleased with himself.

"Don't give me that." said Cedrea ducking into a shortcut in front of Kelly. "You know that because we're in separate years _and _in separate houses that we don't get to see enough of each other."

"That's your opinion, though I might mention that you've never complained about not seeing enough o' Donlan, and e's a year older than you too."

Kelly and Cedrea emerged from the shortcut onto a flight of stairs to the fourth floor where the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was located.

"It's different with Donlan." Cedrea said truthfully, Donlan was more of an older brother that looked after her when necessary. "And speaking of, have you seen him yet?"

"Not yet, I don't think e's arrived yet. – After you. – " Kelly held the classroom door open for her.

"Thank you." Cedrea said, entering and immediately heading for an empty desk in the back of the room. "I thought you said he said he would be back today." Cedrea sat and deposited her bag on the desk in front of her.

"E' did, but e' said not till this morning at least." Kelly also sat. "It's early still, plenty o' day left; I don't think you need to be worried."

"I'm not worried; I would just like to see him after a month, that's all."

Cedrea withdrew a quill, a pot of ink, and her wand from her bag; not knowing which of these she would need. Kelly, however, saw where she had been keeping her wand, drawing a displeased stare. Having no other alternative, Cedrea instantly came to her own defense.

"Look, I know what you're about to tell me since you've told me the same thing a hundred times, so this time just spare me, would you?" said Cedrea hopefully.

"If I've told you a hundred times one would think you'd have listened by now." Kelly said, dashing her hopes. "You're supposed ta carry your wand with you, not in your bag. It's a good thing I caught you and not a teacher."

If not for the fact that she knew it was pointless, Cedrea would have said something more at this point. Kelly was not someone whom relentlessly followed the rules no matter how minute, but he had always been adamant that this particular rule was followed by anyone he was with.

Defense Against the Dark Arts started off much as Transfiguration had, with the professor (a slightly eccentric man from Mexico named Rocco Perez who today had dressed in a blue silk suit.) giving a speech concerning what they had learned to this point and how much they still had to learn. Also how very difficult their sixth year would be academically.

After Professor Perez's speech that was, in Kelly's words, mercifully shorter than McGonagall's he administered a practical review of their talents by means of pairing them off. He set all the pairs jinxes and counter jinxes, all to be properly performed once by each member of the pair before the end of the allotted time and noted the results on a clipboard. Naturally, Cedrea and Kelly paired together, something that proved to be more in Cedrea's favor than Kelly's.

At the end of class Cedrea and a slightly bruised Kelly headed for the Great Hall along with the rest of the school for lunch, deeply involved in a conversation on the matter of the dark arts. One branch of their conversation skewed into an area they both found humorous. This year their schedule had changed so that on Mondays they had Curse Studies directly after Defense Against the Dark Arts; first they would be taught how to defend against dark magic and then they would be taught about it.

Once seated at the Potter table the process of lunch and talking drove any thought of looking for Donlan among the faces of the crowded hall from Cedrea's mind. The thought would not reenter until halfway through lunch when Cedrea started talking with Donlan's girlfriend, a black girl who, like Donlan, was from Canada. She had received an owl from Donlan a couple days ago giving very little information as to where he was going but assuring her that he would be back at school no later than the fourth of September. This reassured Cedrea a little. Now at least she knew he had planned for the possibility of being late.

At one o'clock Kelly and Cedrea headed for their final class of the day down in the dungeons, Curse Studies. It went much the way of their first two classes had, with the exception that at the end Professor Mayamoto assigned a foot-long essay on a deadly curse of their choosing to be on his desk the next day.

Cedrea spent that afternoon until dinner working on her essay with Kelly and Rudolph in the Library. Rudolph had been given a three-foot long essay for Herbology and a Two-foot long essay for Potions, both to be turned in by Wednesday morning. Kelly commented that it certainly seemed like Rudolph had gotten the harder work for he and Cedrea supposedly being in a notoriously difficult year. To which Rudolph kindly assured him that they would notice a sizeable difference after the first week..

By dinner time Cedrea had all but finished her short assignment and Kelly had barely gotten started, having been much more interested in a girl a couple tables away. Rudolph had become very frustrated with both of his essays early in their construction and had given up on both for the night.

As was promised, the interrupted desert from the previous night was delivered in full grandeur at the end of dinner.

After dinner Cedrea spent half an hour finishing her essay and then the rest of the night being as alone as she could get with Rudolph in the school common room. Kelly chose to go up the tower early rather than stay and watch the two expressing their fondness for each other.

The next few days went by quickly for Cedrea, with more of the same as the first. More and more reviews in every class and the occasional essay or other piece of homework; and still no sight or owl from Donlan. On Kelly's advice she tried to keep from worrying but was finding it harder to do the more days passed and by Saturday she was finding it incredibly difficult to keep her mind off of Donlan and where he could be and what he could be doing. She thought that something had to have gone awry with whatever he was doing for him to be two days late for even his latest estimate. She also found it peculiar that he had not even told them what he was doing. Furthermore she was finding it difficult to get any information on the matter from any Professor she felt comfortable asking. Even Professors she knew were members of the Order of the Phoenix sidestepped her questions and promptly changed the subject or said they had work that needed doing. And when she posed questions of the same subject to Kelly on Sunday morning his reaction was much the same; though she could tell that he was starting to get worried too.

"Look, I'm sure e's fine." Kelly reassured a nerve raked Cedrea during breakfast. "E' said that e' wasn't doin' anythin' dangerous and you have ta expect people ta be late; no one can ever give an accurate projection o' when they'll be done with somethin'."

"I don't believe that he wasn't doing anything dangerous. Even if he did say that, and I don't think you do either." Cedrea said, nibbling on the piece of bacon in her hand.

"No, I didn't, but I was hoping you would." said Kelly, attempting an unsuccessful laugh. "Have you talked ta Rudolph about this?"

"Yes, and he has reluctantly agreed with me. He doesn't know what to do either."

"Well, e's always been one of Professor Krum's favorites. Maybe once he gets back if Donlan still hasn't made an appearance then e' can try askin' him."

"Professor Krum might not be back for another week or longer!"

"So what is it that you suggest we do instead?" Kelly asked logically. "I mean, ya've asked everyone else who might be helpful."

"You're right," Cedrea said, defeated. "I'll go ask him now."

Cedrea set her spoon in the bowl of half eaten oatmeal in front of her and excused herself from the table with a wipe of her mouth with a napkin.

"But you've barely eaten anythin'." She heard Kelly call after her. "Not eatin' won't help any!"

She allowed herself a small smirk, she had had plenty. Kelly just considered anything under a helping and a half to be going hungry. Cedrea crossed the Great Hall to the Krum table, walking up behind Rudolph and whispering in his ear the suggestion; taking him a bit off guard. Rudolph turned around in his seat upon her finishing.

"That idea does not exactly excite me." said Rudolph, looking displeased.

"Why not, I thought you liked Professor Krum and you two were pretty close?" Cedrea said, feeling disappointed in her boyfriend.

"Well… yes… but…" Rudolph cast an awkward look to other boys around him and then said. "Cedrea, let's talk over here for a moment." And stood up, telling a dark haired, sulking looking boy that he'd be right back.

He led her out of the Hall to just outside the large doors where he finished his thought.

"It is true that I like Professor Krum, and that he likes me. And it is no secret that I am his favorite student, and yes, we are fairly close. But that is only because he was good friends with my grandfather. I just do not feel entirely comfortable asking him something like that."

"But you will anyway won't you, for me?" Cedrea looked up at him, smiling broadly and batting her eyelids twice and she saw his face fall, meaning she had won.

"Yes, I will." Rudolph said with a sigh and Cedrea stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him. "But, only if we have not heard from Donlan before."

"Thank you."

"Da, da. Now excuse me, I'm going to get back to Fietka. He got an owl from his uncle today concerning his mother."

Cedrea nodded and let him go without another word. She knew exactly what the letter would have contained; it was not an uncommon occurrence, dozens of kids got them every year.


	3. A Headmaster's Pains

Okay, it's time for another chapter. I don't really have a lot to say about this one except that I think you will all find it a lot more interesting than the last one. It gives a lot more information about some things and give some more hints about the furture of the story. I'm actually worried I was a bit obvious in some parts, but I'll just have to wait and see. I hope you all like it and review. So, without further ado, the next chapter, enjoy.

**Chapter three---A Headmaster's Pains**

The large, high ceilinged rectangular room was dark and indeed void of light aside from the rays of moonlight drifting in through the wall-sized window set behind the fine desk and high backed chair of the Champions' Academy's Headmaster. The darkness making it quite impossible to perceive what the office's adorned walls possessed upon them.

The office door swung open, revealing a corridor that was equally as dark as the office itself. Entering from the corridor was the figure of a woman relying partially on a walking stick for support. Her elderly face was dimly lit by the white-blue light of the wand she held ahead of her.

The woman walked to the wall opposite her, pointed her lit wand down and several sparks flew from it onto the logs resting atop the hearth inside a large fireplace, setting them aflame.

As the fire spread to all of the surrounding wood it illuminated a round table with six chairs a few feet removed from the fireplace. The woman extinguished her wand light, there being no further need for it, and seated herself in one of the chairs closest to the fire; setting her walking stick against the wall. She did not know when her companions would be joining her, but she knew it would be within the hour, and so she returned her wand to a pocket crossed her arms and watched the fire slowly eat away at the wood.

It was nearly twenty minutes before the first of the four people the woman was expecting arrived. A round faced, dark haired man, walking down the corridor without lit wand toward the still open office door.

"I see you're the first here as usual, Professor McGonagall." The man said with a smile as he took the seat across from her.

"Did you expect anything different, Mr. Longbottom?" She asked and he shook his head, another smile on his face. Professor McGonagall was probably the most punctual person who ever lived.

Many minutes passed to the point of the expected others teetering on the edge of being late with Professor McGonagall and Professor Longbottom having only one another for conversation. Neither was very talkative when near the other, neither had really learned to have a friendly conversation when in the other's company. For many years Professor Longbottom had, when he was much younger, actually been a bit afraid of her; she being one of _his_ teachers when he had attended school decades previous. As such, the two spent the majority of the time in silence with only small comments passing between them.

As the four-sided clock at the center of the round table approached five minutes before midnight there was a great explosion of flame at the desk that vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. It harmed nothing and left in its absence two men and a large bird. The two men walked toward the table, each at their own very different pace. The first, a man with rather a square head, a large, slightly crooked nose and short balding black hair walked very quickly, reaching the table before the second man had taken even six steps. The second man, who had a large bird perched on his shoulder with bright red and orange plumage and a golden beak and talons that shown strangely through the darkness, walked much slower than the first; stopping halfway to set the bird on it's proper perch. He had a long beard colored salt and pepper that hung midway down his chest and thick, messy, shoulder length black hair, streaked with silvery gray. Several strands of which fell down over his face, partially hiding the lightning shaped scar above his right eye. On his face he wore half-moon spectacles over vividly green eyes; this man was the Headmaster of The Champions Academy.

"I'm most sorry to say that Mrs. Morris will not be joining us tonight, I had need of her to run me an errand. She sends her apologies." The Headmaster said, taking his seat nearest to the fireplace, between the man he had arrived with and Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, Remus sends his as well, Harry." McGonagall said, addressing the Headmaster.

"There is no need, Minerva; really it is just poor timing on my part. I will have to remember to give him my own apologies tomorrow." Harry said indifferently. "Though I trust that my parcel arrived in time to make it a comfortable night for him?"

"Yes, he was very appreciative." said McGonagall.

"It certainly _was_ long enough between the times I've been able to acquire, wasn't it? Harry said, now appearing to be displeased with himself.

"Now, to the first order of tonight's business," the man sitting next to Harry, Professor Krum, spoke up with a smile as he waved his wand. A silver goblet appeared in-front of each of the four and a bottle of mead in his hand. "Neville and MuGonigall, vould you care for some?" he asked; filling his and Harry's.

"Yes, please." Neville said. Krum promptly filled his goblet as well and looked to McGonagall.

"I'm afraid I must decline tonight." McGonagall said, covering her mouth to help stifle a cough.

Harry gazed from her to the walking stick against the wall beside her but said nothing.

"As for the second," began Neville. "I'm guessing that you did not find what you were looking for."

"No!" said Harry bitterly. "And believe me; if I had I would not have taken my time once I got back telling you about it. You would have known immediately."

"You will just have to keep looking then, won't you?" said McGonagall.

Harry scoffed barely audibly at her words. She had told him the same thing hundreds of times before over the years and in the beginning he had found it reassuring but lately he just found it annoying. He knew that she knew this and that it made no difference to her. She wouldn't stop telling him, whatever his feelings, until he found what he was looking for.

"By all means let's get to the rest of tonight's agenda." Harry said, sipping his mead. He was eager for a change of subject.

"Right then." Neville said, taking out a tightly rolled, small length of parchment and opening it. "You've received numerous owls over the last three weeks from Minister Smith…" Harry laughed mockingly at mention of the name, interrupting Neville.

"You could at least find out vhat he vants before laughing." said Krum.

"Very well, what would the _Minister_," he put a very derisive emphasis on the word. "like of me?"

"Advice mostly, and a few things I wrote back immediately telling him there was no chance of." Neville said, crossing out something from the parchment with a quill that had suddenly appeared from nowhere. "Next, you received a _your-eyes-only_, non-urgent, owl from someone the day before yesterday. It did not bear a name and we have run it through the entire gauntlet of anti-dark magic precautions."

"I'll take a look at it later." said Harry, almost absentmindedly.

Neville crossed another thing out from the parchment, took a drink and went on.

"Professor Krum, I have been requested by one of your seventh year students to ask you to see him once you've returned; the name of the student was Rudolph Polov." Krum used a silent nod of his head to acknowledge him. "That finishes it up for me, except that I've received several complaints from first years about being scared."

"What is frightening them?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

"Professor Corviss of course." said Neville with a smirk and for the first time that night Harry laughed out of amusement rather than contempt.

"MuGonigall, haff you any business?" Krum asked her, refilling his Goblet.

"Yes, I do, thank you." she began, clearing her throat. "Harry, the house elves have requested a meeting with you by week's end. I do not know the subject; they said it was not for me to know."

Harry nodded, thinking over what had been said thus far. "There is something else, I'm assuming, Minerva." Harry said, staring rather blankly, directly in front of him.

"Yes, Remus would like permission to add two recently graduated students to the school's security."

"By all means, whatever he wants, though I'll tell him tomorrow when I see him." Harry said, still staring. "If I'm not very much mistaken that is everything for tonight, is it not?"

"It is. It has been a rather slow few weeks." said Neville, standing from his chair, along with Krum. He smirked at Harry's uncanny knowledge of things.

Both headed for the office's exit after a brief "Goodnight" and before they had reached it Harry called Neville back. He took from his pocket a piece of scrap parchment and a quill that inked itself and wrote a short note. He folded and sealed the parchment once finished and addressed it.

"Please delivery this for me." said Harry, handing the parchment to Neville.

Harry waited for Neville to exit and turned to McGonagall, she having not stood or even moved.

"Is there something else not appropriately said in broader company?" Harry said suspiciously. He had known her a long time and she didn't loiter for just any reason, especially late at night.

"I think you should know that several Order members have come to me about you."

"And what about me have they come to talk to you about rather than me? The one they should have come to." Harry said, his temper primed for a steep incline.

"They don't much like the manner in which you are running the Order as of late. They feel you aren't as dutiful in your position as you could be, and that you don't put the best interests of the Order at the forefront of your actions. Some said you've been reckless with how you're handling the Order's members. Others said that given how many other undertakings you have taken upon yourself that you might not have the suitable time needed for the job."

McGonagall finished and Harry's temper took the incline previously set before it.

"The sods!" Harry said simply, his face portraying his anger quite clearly. "Do they honestly think I have ever sent any of them on…" he broke off there, clenching his teeth. "…No, I'll save that speech for a later date, when I am speaking to them personally."

Harry cleared his throat, McGonagall said nothing.

"If they think I am doing such a terrible job, they can purpose my removal as head of the Order and the placement of someone they find worthy the next time the Order is gathered." Harry's anger had subsided a little with effort. "That gathering will now be in a month's time. I ask you to inform them of their opportunity and to prepare their arguments for that time to be judged by the whole of the Order. I will notify all the others of the schedule change."

"I told them you would suggest they try and remove you." McGonagall said standing and taking her walking stick in hand. "It did not seem to worry or deter them. I will tell them what you have said, but this might well be a real threat to your leadership of the Order, they might have only been a representative of the group. Please consider that."

Harry nodded but said nothing as McGonagall left the room. Surely she was overestimating their resolve and influence. "_I will not be removed, Minerva._" Harry said to himself, quite adamantly.

Harry stared at his office door long after there was any need for him to give it so much as a glance. He sat alone in the darkness and in quiet but for occasional soft singing of the large bird he had arrived with. He sat, with a bottle labeled "_Hogwarts Elfish Wine: 1980_" in one hand and a crystal goblet in the other, filling the later repeatedly and consuming its contents slowly. He had hoped that his query would have kept him busy all through the upcoming week. Since it had not, however, he would have ample time to dwell on the week's long standing dismality; lest something arise that required his attention, and he could practically predict that was not going to happen. He cursed under his breath and took a drink of wine.

"That is a very good maker and vintage, though I'm afraid it is probably not the best way to deal with what you're feeling." said a kind, fatherly voice from one of the unseen portraits on the dark wall.

"I can't say as I much care what you think right now." Harry said, finishing the wine left in his goblet and refilling it yet again. He had made it more than halfway through the bottle.

"Yes, I know, and I dare say you've cared less and less what I think the more years you put under your belt." Retorted the portrait; without losing its fatherly tone.

"That's nice." Harry said absentmindedly with a yawn, almost as if he had not been listening, although he had been.

He finished another goblet full of wine before corking the bottle, bidding the portrait goodnight and walking, slightly hampered, to the door on the opposite side of the office from his desk that was his bedroom.

That night Harry's slumber was not a peaceful one and marred by terrible images of days long since gone and even more terrible pained screams and yells unearthed from the darkest parts of his memory. Memories he had long tried to forget with out luck. Mentors, parents, friends, and a wide assortment of others, the memories from his front row viewings of each of their deaths replaying again and again in his dreams.

Harry woke the next morning to find himself on the floor, wringing his blanket in his hands almost to the point of tearing it. His sleeping robes dampened with now chilled sweat. He growled with anger and righted himself; casting his blanket fiercely beside him where it burst into flames without warning or reason and floated slowly to the floor as a thick cloud of ash.

Bad tempered, Harry retrieved his wand from his bed-side table and, in the direction of the ash, gave it a downward twirl. The ash instantly reverted to its previous state and flew back to the bed which was making itself.

Harry placed his wand behind his ear for temporary safe keeping and sat on the edge of his bed. He buried his face in his boney hands, feeling every line of his aged face. How had he become so old? How had he lived for so long when so many others had died in youth, far from old age's tightening grip? How could he have accomplished so little in so many years?

_But look at Professor McGonagall. _Said a familiar voice in his head, a voice he had known since he was eleven.

_That's right, McGonagall must be at least twice your age, you have plenty of time left to accomplish tones._ A quite different voice said in his head, a voice that, likewise with the first, he had known since he was eleven.

_If I live to be McGonagall's age I will have failed and my life will have been pointless. _Said a third voice, his own, filled with hatred and contempt.

Harry removed his left hand from his face and placed on his chest and ran his fingers along it in an odd pattern; reminding himself.

He stood slowly from his bed with the popping of many of his joints and walked to his wardrobe, intent on dressing for what promised to be a long day within an even longer week. As Harry was working on the last two buttons on the collar of his usual black robes he heard a soft hoot and felt an owl land on his shoulder.

"Hello, Hedwed." He said as he took the foot-high, black owl from his shoulder; allowing it to perch on his outstretched middle and fore fingers. "What have you brought me today my darling?" Harry stroked the owl's head a few times, it stuck out its leg to which was attached a thin letter and Harry untied it. "Thank you, on your way now." The owl lifted off from his fingers and flew out of the room the way it had come.

The manner in which he spoke to Hedwed demonstrated the great affection he had for his animals, a loving tone that one would usually associate to that of a parent addressing their small child. An affection and tone he had seldom applied to his human companions in recent memory.

Harry casually opened the letter in his hands and began to read. It was a short letter, yet every word had been placed on the parchment with a great deal of thought behind them. The letter, as he had known from its arrival, was from Remus Lupin; one of his oldest friends, in more than one way. What he had not known was the reason behind said letter though he had guessed from the previous night's meeting and was soon proven correct. Remus wanted to talk with him, again he guessed the reasoning, but would have to wait a little while before confirming it.

Harry checked his appearance in the mirror on the inside of his wardrobe door and closed it. He turned from the wardrobe, and let out a series of low, hiss-like sounds.

_Shmear, come to me please._

Harry did not move upon finishing his short request but rather stood perfectly still, awaiting Shmear. Within five minutes Harry heard to sound of stone scraping against stone as a portion of the back of his office fireplace moved aside to allow passage. A moment later a massive green and gray snake nearly ten feet long wound its way around the bedroom door and drew close to him.

The snake wrapped itself around Harry's leg and slithered upward, winding around his torso, up his back and finally over his shoulder so that it and Harry were face to face. Harry had not filched or acted in the least bit surprised by this action, even though the large snake could easily squeeze all life out of him if it so chose; this was a common occurrence.

_Thank you, Shmear, off keeping the castle free from rats again, were you? _Harry said in the same hiss-like sounds as before; Parseltongue it was called. He stroked the snake's head; it smelled the air with its forked tongue. _Please visit Remus and alert him that I will be there in a few hours, he will know why you have come, thank you._

The snake hissed once as if to say he understood and agreed and recoiled from around Harry's body and slunk off out of the room. Once again he had treated and spoken to one of his creatures as if it were his own child.

Harry took his large pointed hat from the hat rack next to the door leading to his office. He placed the hat precisely on his head, tilted it slightly so that the brim partially covered his left eye and exited his bedroom. He was careful to keep his head down enough that the brim of his hat obstructed his view of the walls, not caring to have a conversation with any of the many recently awakened portraits about his "rudeness" of last night.

He walked through corridors and down many staircases from his high tower home to the Great Hall for breakfast at his seat overlooking his many students. It was not the true Great Hall, of course, but it seemed a fitting name at the time when he, Krum, and Fleur had founded the school. So many years ago it seemed like now.

On his way he passed students of all ages, most going the same direction as him, tired and hungry; though few keeping with his pace. This was because he was widely feared, despite being mostly well liked and revered by all but few in the castle. This meant that students had a tendency to slow or quicken their pace when they saw him, turn and go the opposite way, or just stop dead in their tracks altogether. As for those few who did not alter their walking habits upon seeing him, they usually kept their eyes to the ground, uncomfortable with walking so near to him for any extended length of time. Occasionally he would receive an awkward smile from a first year who hadn't quite grasped his significance. He got this particularly from muggle born children as they usually thought he looked exactly like what an old wizard should. He had yet to return any of the smiles he had received and indeed had not even acknowledged those who had been the givers; and he had no intentions of changing that at any point in the future.

Upon taking his high-backed seat at the middle of the staff table Harry ate quite quickly, not in a mood to linger. He had brief discussions with Neville and McGonagall, if they could be called as such. He did very little of the actual talking and spent most the time agreeing and nodding; not much caring what they were saying. He would have been more interested to talk with Krum; however he was absent, something about meeting with some students.

Several times Harry glanced sideways to Lupin's spot on the staff table, making sure that he would not be joining them before he was finished with his own meal. Lupin did not arrive by the time Harry had finished his toast, sausage, and hash, however, and nor did he arrive during the ten minutes he spent after his meal vaguely listening to Neville go on about some new plant he had acquired. It certainly looked as if Lupin was not coming to breakfast.

Harry's empty dishes vanished as he got to his feet and he walked away from the staff table; exiting the Great Hall via the hidden door directly behind his chair. He walked much quicker towards Lupin's office on the second floor than he had on his way down from his. He took every shortcut and secret passage he knew, many he had plotted himself and which few other than him knew of.

He reached Lupin's office before four minute's time and came to a stop in front of the door. He rapped loudly with his knuckles and was greeted by a tired sounding voice. "Hold on just a moment please, Harry." The voice said.

Though he could have easily unlocked the door and entered long before Lupin could let him in, he decided against it. Lupin wouldn't take kindly to it. Harry glanced to his right while he waited, staring at the plaque affixed to the wall next to the door which read: "Remus J. Lupin, Head of Champions' Academy Security Wizards"

There was a series of clicks and a creek and the door opened to reveal an old man, about Harry's height, with white hair, a severely lined and scared face, and a cane in his right hand. Harry's head jerked from the plaque to Lupin who was standing in the doorway with an indifferent look on his face.

"Are you going to come in?" Lupin asked.

"Well I can't exactly come in with you blocking the way, now can I?" Retorted Harry; Lupin gave a half smile and turned sideways to allow Harry entrance.

"I would much appreciate it if you did not again send that infernal snake of yours to alert me to your coming. An owl would have worked just fine. Bloody hell, send a student for all I care, either would be preferable." said Lupin, closing the door and walking around Harry and back to his desk; relying on his cane heavily.

Lupin turned and sat in his chair, set his cane against the wall, and with a great deal of effort that required both of his arms, propped up his left leg on a padded stool; grimacing in pain throughout.

"Oh, that's right, you don't like Shmear." Harry said, in what he knew was a sincere tone, seating himself in one of the two guest chairs in front of Lupin's desk. Lupin shot him a skeptical look.

Lupin's office was square in shape, the right wall was taken up by four bookcases filled to their fullest extent with books on a wide variety of magic and magical subjects, and there was a particularly large section on dark magic defenses. At both the corners of the left wall were glass and gold shelves containing a variety of ornaments and decorations such as several photographs with moving occupants, small stuffed magical creatures of a nefarious nature and most prominently, and eerily, a human hand made from silver, contorted in a strange position. Near the shelf at the back corner was a door hung with a sign labeled "PRIVATE" and secured with half a dozen heavy latches with large padlocks. Harry knew it to be the room Lupin locked himself in for his monthly transformations. A little ways from the door was a tank filled with dark green water and a superfluous amount of weeds; every so often he would catch a glimpse of some dark colored creature.

The most important feature of the office, however, was behind Lupin's desk. A large, highly detailed map of every part of the school and the entire island with minuscule ink dots labeled with the name of the person they represented that followed them every step they took. It was presently rolled up for safe keeping at the top of the wall.

"So should we get to why I wanted to meet with you?" said Lupin.

"Yes, quite." said Harry; sweeping his hat of his head and placing it on his knee. "But first, I trust you received my shipment in time, I believe Neville mentioned you had. I hope your night was much for enjoyable than usual."

"I'm sure you knew perfectly well that I had received it even before you asked Neville." Lupin said, looking quizzical. "Though I appreciated it very much, thank you. Last night was the best transformation I've had in a long time. I'm sure it was not an easy ingredient to find."

"I'm sorry I couldn't find it for you sooner." Harry said and Lupin scoffed, quickly turning it into a cough, Harry ignored it. "I forgot to ask when I saw him; did you give a bit to Neville so he could keep you well supplied?"

"Yes, I did, he says within a year we should have all we could need and then some. And for that I thank you again."

There was a slight pause during which Lupin cleared his throat and began rubbing his left leg, it appearing to be causing him a lot of pain.

"As for last night, I'm sorry that I couldn't postpone…" Lupin swiftly cut him off, the crossness in his voice apparent.

"That is enough, Harry! Please, do not pretend, you are not truly sorry for either of the things you have just apologized for!" Lupin paused, taking a few breaths before continuing; his crossness dwindling. "It's okay, you are not the same person I met in your third year. Nor are you very much anymore like James was, I know this, I have accepted it as something I can not change. You are a man that fakes kindness around his closest friends to ensure they do not abandon his side. But rest assured in me if no one else, Harry, I will never leave your side no matter what the reason. Let alone for something as meaningless as a poor disposition or brutal, unwavering honesty. And I don't think any of the others would either. You put too little faith in us on this issue. You have been our friend too long now for us to just abandon you. You are the only reason many of us are alive to see old age."

The two stared at each other for a few minutes, Harry mulling over what Lupin had just said and Lupin trying to read the look on Harry's face. One thing had hit Harry hard; "alive to see old age."

Harry placed his hat back on his head and stood up so fast his chair was knocked back a few inches.

"And what… pray tell… is so fantastic about old age?!" Harry demanded of Lupin bitterly. "Old age is nothing more than the point at which you start to become feeble minded and decrepit. The point at which your body starts to fail you and ailments and injuries that you would merely let roll off your back and get on with your life as they heal quickly in your youth begin to linger, and hinder, and CRIPPLE you!" He shot a look at Lupin's propped up leg. This was who Harry truly was, saying whatever he pleased because he believed it to be the truth. A man filled with anger, every bit of it portioned to him by years of pain and loss and despair. "Oh, yes, old age is wonderment draped in delight.

"You are correct, I am not sorry for those things I apologized for, it is not my fault you are a werewolf and that only one thing can sooth your difficulties! If only all of us could have such a potion at out disposal to mend our ailments! Nor is it my fault that I have not been able to find what you need in so long!" Harry was out right yelling at Lupin, but Lupin did not flinch of even react, waiting for the end of his tirade. "As for the meeting last night, I scheduled it for when I did because it was when I got back and I thought it best if matters were not left lingering; even if it did prove rather unfruitful!"

"Are you quite finished?" Lupin asked calmly, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Yes. Good day!" Harry turned on his heel and exited the room, restraining himself with some difficulty from slamming the door. The reason Lupin had asked him their and the reason Harry had come having gone undisguised.

Lupin put his face in his hand and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"My dear Harry," he spoke to his palm. "Life has not been just of kind to you."


	4. Distracting Events

Yes, I'm back. I know it's been well over a year since I've updated and most of you probably gave up hope of another chapter a very long time ago. That is if there are indeed any of my original readers left who still care to finish my story. I apologize for the ungodly amount of time that has passed between chapters. It turned out to be a very bad year for me, particularly in writing. But I'm doing much better now and am back and plan to stay back. I'm attending college now so I will only have the weekends to write on. But rest assured I'll be working on new chapters as much as I can and will be getting them to you as often as I can. I do hope you will forgive me for my absence. And so, without further ado, the next chapter, enjoy.

**Chapter Four - - Distracting Events**

Cedrea awoke in the middle of the night with a terror filled scream. She sat up and buried her face in her hands; eyes filling with tears.

"What's going on, what's wrong?!" Cut Sunny's panic stricken voice through the darkness and Cedrea heard her fumbling around for her wand and the other girls also waking.

"N-nothing, everything's fine, just a bad dream." Cedrea said shakily through her hands as wands on either side of her lit. "Sorry for waking you all, everything's fine, go back to bed, really." She saw a quick flash of wand light from Sunny's direction then a sigh of relief as the other wands were extinguished.

"It must have been really bad, you sounded horrified. Try to get some more sleep." One of the other girls said. If only she knew how hollow her words sounded.

Cedrea knew it had been a dream but she couldn't stop herself from crying silently into her pillow. Nor could she cast from her mind the horrible images of what she had seen. Over and over the last moments of the dream played in her head. There was Donlan, kneeling in fear before a man laughing mirthfully as he pointed his wand at Donlan's heart and asked him if he was ready to die. The man's face she had not seen, he had been cloaked in inexplicable darkness. But she had seen they were in a dark field surrounded by a circle of faceless spectators, all enjoying the spectacle immensely. Then, quite suddenly, a voice had told him not to answer; there was a flash of green, and Donlan fell limp onto his front. This is where she had woken up and screamed.

It was all made worse by it being two weeks into the new term and there having been no word from Donlan about where he was or what he was doing. And when Rudolph had met with Professor Krum yesterday morning he again couldn't get a straight answer. Krum had said he would give him an answer as soon as he could. This was no comfort to Cedrea; she wanted answers now, not whenever Professor Krum got around to giving them to her.

She had never known Donlan to leave her wondering about important information, or as to why he hadn't kept a date, and now he had done just that. As little as a piece of torn parchment saying no more than "I'm fine" in Donlan's hand writing would have consoled her, yet nothing. Leaving her mind to follow logic's path to its only conclusion of something having gone wrong.

It took her several minutes to stop crying. When she had she laid back down and pulled her blankets tightly over her trying to put the images of her dream from her mind and get some sleep.

Come morning, Cedrea had gotten little sleep, unwillingly rethinking her dream which afforded her not rest. She welcomed the coming day, hoping it would provide distractions from the thoughts and questions filling her head as she dressed. _Could Donlan really be in danger? Could what she had seen been true events that had somehow found their way into her dreams? Or were they events that had yet to happen but would soon?_

_But how could they be? _Said a reasoning voice; pushing its way to the front of her mind.

_There _are _seers; there have been plenty of them, we've learned about them in history of magic. Ones whose predictions had come true and ones whose hadn't. _A nasty arguing voice interjected, spreading more doubt.

_That's just ridiculous, you're not a seer. _The first voice was back. _You can't be, there's never been a seer in your family. And there hasn't been a witch or wizard with the sudden onset of foresight without a previous family member also possessing it in more than 1200 years._

_That doesn't mean it can't start happening again. _The nasty arguing voice observed, quite logically.

Cedrea shook her head overly forceful to banish these annoying and unsettling voices back to where they belonged and pulled her shiny blonde hair into a pony tail. Sunny, who had just gotten up, was pulling on a robe and saw the force with which she had shaken her head, drawing a question of whether she was alright. Cedrea skillfully waived off Sunny's concerns by quickly lying that a bug had flown into her face and startled her. Sunny believed this.

Cedrea would have much preferred it, as she took her time walking down to breakfast, that it had not been Saturday so she would have classes to distract her from Donlan. It _was _Saturday, however, and she had all of today and tomorrow to dwell on the matter with hardly anything to do.

"You look like crap." Kelly said, slightly subdued, sitting next to her. It was true, she did. She had bags under her eyes and looked as if she might fall asleep where she sat, slipping face first into the untouched eggs in front of her. She thought Kelly did not look much better.

"Haven' you slept? You need sleep, ya' know, to replenish your energy. Same with food." He said, looking from her to the eggs. "So you might want ta start on those before they're cold and slimy." He was tipping the contents of several platters onto his own plate.

After breakfast, Cedrea, Rudolph and Kelly took a slightly somber walk around the castle. It being the only thing they could all agree on. Rudolph had suggested a bit of friendly Quidditch to pass the time but Kelly and Cedrea had turned this down. Kelly then suggested they go to the library since they all had lengthy reports for potions and, despite her wishing they had classes, both Cedrea and Rudolph turned this down too. Cedrea could think of nothing and they eventually decided to take an aimless walk about the grounds.

It was as they were returning to the castle almost an hour later that their plans were made for them by the worst person imaginable. They hadn't gotten within twenty feet of the front steps when Jesse came trotting out the front doors, spotted them and smiled broadly.

"Ah, the perfect candidates!" Jesse said to himself, though loud enough for everybody around to hear.

Cedrea rolled her eyes and held Rudolph's hand tighter as she wondered what Jesse could be referring to and wondering how terrible it would be.

"How would you lot like to do a favor for me?" said Jesse falsely cheerful once he reached them.

"We wouldn't! Thank you very much!" Cedrea answered for them all, quickly walking away while pulling on Rudolph so he knew to hurry and follow, he did, and Kelly did not hesitate either.

"I guess that's too bad, cus you're doing it anyway." Jesse called after them, Cedrea stopped dead; there was nothing in the sorting hat that was going to make her do him a favor.

"Like hell we are!" Cedrea said heatedly, letting go of Rudolph's hand and turning to face Jesse with hands on her hips. "You can't make us do anything if we don't want to." Kelly whispered to her to be careful.

"Oh, but I can." said Jesse with a pompous grin and he tapped an index finger on his prefect badge. "I can't order Polov, of course, with him being the new Quidditch captain making him on equal footing as prefects. But, he can't contradict me either and that leaves you and Conners here well within the range of my power to hand down tasks to."

Cedrea scowled at him and heard both Kelly and Rudolph call him two different very nasty things under their breath. This had to be a misuse of his prefect powers if ever she had seen one.

"What do you want, Markus?!" Rudolph asked, putting a hard emphasis on Jesse's surname.

"As I said, Polov, I can't press you into this so there's really no need for you to get involved. But if you want to you are welcome to go along." Jesse's immense false kindness was irritating Cedrea so much that she just wanted to get away from him. And if that meant doing his little _favor _than she was willing to.

"Would you just get to the point? Please?" Cedrea said, not reciprocating the false kindness.

"Simple really," said Jesse joining them midway up the steps and holding out a sealed envelope. "A professor asked me to deliver this to the village. I'm far too busy I'm afraid, so I've decided to give you the privilege of delivering it for me."

Without any further explanation Cedrea snatched the envelope from Jesse's hand and tucked in inside her robes.

"Excellent!" said Jesse happily. "Just deliver it to the address and that'll be the end of it. Now, I'm off to meet Sunny, see you later." He turned to walk away

"Which professor gave you the letter?" asked Kelly curiously.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that. Just deliver it." Jesse said, turning back. "Oh, and I almost forgot. One of you hold out your hand." Cedrea obliged first.

Jesse retrieved his wand from up his sleeve and held it just above her outstretched hand. He said nothing and after a few seconds retracted his wand having seemingly done nothing. Cedrea was beginning to wonder if he wasn't really just playing at trick on them, that'd be just like him. But she had heard about the village on the northern tip of the island since she had arrived at the academy and had always wanted to visit. So even if this did turn out to be just one of his humorless jokes, there was a chance she would get to go to the village and that was worth the almost three mile walk. Plus it would be a handy distraction.

Jesse left them and Rudolph and Kelly rounded on Cedrea.

"What did you agree for? – Why would you agree to that?" They said almost simultaneously, neither looked very pleased with her.

"Because he was right, he had the authority to tell us to do this, especially since it was at the request of a professor." Cedrea said, skipping down the steps two at a time.

"We could have gone to a professor, that might not have been an abuse of his powers but I'm sure they would have sided with us." Rudolph said, most correctly.

"Yeah, I'm sure Professor McGonagall or Longbottom would have made him do his own tasks." said Kelly, as correct as Rudolph.

"Oh come on you two." said Cedrea. "None of us have ever been to the village and it was unlikely if this hadn't come up that any of us ever would. It'll be fun." She added as she took Rudolph's hand again.

She led the way in the proper direction with Rudolph and Kelly following reluctantly.

It was nearly eleven-thirty when the threesome came to the wall of pine and other assorted trees that surrounded the village. A fact Kelly lost no time in pointing out meant they would miss lunch and have to settle for snacks once they got back to the castle and they would never be filling enough for him.

Cedrea paused a few yards from the edge of the trees; wondering if they should just walk in or wait for someone to greet them. It didn't seem right for there to be no one around. Did this mean that anyone could just walk into the village at their leisure? This was definitely contrary to what she had been told.

Cedrea squinted in among the trunks of the many trees. Hardly any light was making it past the treetops and she couldn't make out anything past the first half dozen trees, making for a very unnerving sight. She cast nervous glances at her friends which they returned with very skeptical ones that clearly said: "We shouldn't have done this; he was messing with us."

Ignoring their looks, Cedrea made up her mind and started walking forward; confident that they would soon be visiting the village for the first time. True, most of the wooded areas on the island were off limits to students seventh year and below, particularly the forest taking up most of the southern part of the island. But there was nobody around to prevent their entry and indeed it looked as if there were no measures to prevent it. Of course, the appearance of countermeasures meant very little in the magical world. But perhaps all the rumors of the exceedingly high level of security around the village were precisely that, rumors.

Cedrea stopped at the edge of the trees and turned around to face her best friend and boyfriend, neither of which had moved.

"Are you coming?" she asked, a bit curtly. "Or am I going to have to Imperius you both?"

"That's not very funny; and I'm sure Rudolph, like myself, was working on it." said Kelly, casting a sideways glance at Rudolph as they both met her at the edge of the trees.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" she said, patting them both on the arm. "Now, in we go."

Cedrea turned back around and the three walked into the dark of the trees together. They had gotten barely three steps, however, when they found themselves unable to move anything below their eyes and were finding it impossible to voice the concerns now racing through their minds. Then, quicker than Cedrea could blink and without a sound they were surround by a dozen wizards and witches in dark robes with hard faces and their wands directed at the three of them. They appeared to have emerged from the trees themselves.

"The one of you that can clearly, concisely, and quickly state your business here blink thrice now!" The hardest looking wizard said fiercely, a man with short gray hair that stuck straight up.

Cedrea immediately blinked three times and the man waved his wand and the feeling that someone was squeezing her vocals cords in their fist disappeared. He looked at her expectantly so she spoke up.

"Umm… we came to deliver a letter." said Cedrea, eyeing the many wands pointed at her and hoping more than ever before that Jesse hadn't been playing a joke on them.

"Who is the letter for?" said the man.

"I don't actually know, I hadn't looked at who it was addressed to yet." Cedrea said, wishing she had not been so hasty when given the letter and had looked at it first. "I could get in for you… if my arms were free." she added hopefully.

The man raised his eyebrow suspiciously but waved his wand again and Cedrea's arms were set free from the spell that held them. She slowly reached inside her robes and retrieved the letter, careful to make sure she didn't look like she was going for her wand. Cedrea read the envelope and was surprised to see only an address. _Number 7 Albus End. _

"There's only an address, no name. Number seven Albus end." she said and the man gave her another suspicious look and motioned to a witch with long, flaming red hair and curiously dark blue eyes to come forward.

The woman took the letter from Cedrea without asking and looked it over for herself. The two exchanged whispered words that Cedrea couldn't hear and turned back to her.

"We were supposed to deliver it for a professor." Cedrea spoke up, hoping to move things along.

"Which professor gave this to you?" the man inquired.

"Well, actually they didn't." Cedrea answered and the man raised his eyebrow again. "It was given to us by another student and he said that we were supposed to deliver it for the professor."

"And which professor did he say wanted it delivered?" said the man, giving her a piercing gaze that she did not at all like.

"He wouldn't tell us." Cedrea said sheepishly, realizing just how stupid and suspicious she was making the three of them sound with every word that left her mouth. None of those surrounding her looked like they believed her, even Rudolph and Kelly didn't, or perhaps it was the situation they were in that they didn't believe.

"Oh, wait!" Cedrea said quickly before the man could decide what to do with them, remembering. She offered her hand. "The student who gave it to me did something to my hand; at least I think he did."

The man's look changed instantly at her words from one of suspicion to one more of irritation. He struck the back of her hand with the side of his wand with more force than was strictly necessary, causing it to sting, and within a second the shining outline of a bird she did not recognize with large wings and a long flowing tail appeared where he had hit. The effect of this was incredible. Upon seeing the bird, all of the dozen witches and wizards lowered their wands and the witch with the flaming red hair handed the letter back to Cedrea; and though she did not notice it right away her legs were now free and so were Rudolph and Kelly.

"Why didn't you just mention your hand in the first place?" The man said with an air of irritation. "It would have saved us all a lot of time. Why didn't they just send an owl?" He added quietly, slipping his wand inside his robes.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know it was important." Cedrea said a bit weakly. This man seemed to drain her of her usual confidence.

"It does not matter anymore." The witch with the red hair said. "We will grant you entry to the village. Keep walking until you emerge onto the main street; continue up the street until you reach Albus End on your right side. There are signs, so pay attention! But if you do go too far it is the second to last turn off from the end of the main street. Find number seven, deliver the letter, and return to the castle. Have I made myself clear?" she said all of this very quickly.

"Yes," The three said together.

"Very good then, get going." The man said, jerking his head behind him.

They cast quick glances at each other and filed past the witches and wizards around them. All were eager to get away from the group who probably would have cursed their robes off if it hadn't been for the strange mark on Cedrea's hand. Cedrea noticed that despite being a good three to four inches taller than anyone else and being a highly skilled duelist for his age, Rudolph looked severely unnerved and uncomfortable being around the security witches and wizards. She supposed it was because he was not used to feeling powerless.

As the three neared the other edge of the barrier of trees, which seemed strikingly closer than it had a few moments before, Cedrea turned to thank those who had stopped them out of politeness rather than sincerity and was surprised to see not a one of them remained where they had been standing only a minute before.

Feeling slightly unnerved by the superb speed and hiding ability of the security wizards, Cedrea stepped out from the darkness of the trees and into daylight again. Her view of the small village from the side of the street was striking. Everywhere she looked there were houses of all sorts of shapes and sizes, none like another and all colored to the likings of its owner, some with a single floor that were quite simple and others (sometimes right next to each other) with up to four floors and very fancy. And still others had multiple levels and were crooked and rather rickety looking. Cedrea thought it was all simply fantastic, a marvelous wizarding community, not at all like where she had lived with her parents when she was younger. She had never seen a place like this and had missed being in a town of any sort since she had begun staying at the Academy year round four years ago. The trio walked up the cobbled stone main street passing all manner of people. They drew surveying looks from most they passed until they recognized their school uniforms and their surveying looks changed instantly to smiles. A few older men even tipped their hats to them. There was hardly a place Cedrea looked that she did not see a smile looking back upon her. The inhabitants of the village apparently found it very pleasant to see students walking the streets and she could see why. The further they went the more Cedrea noticed a definite gap in ages among the residents. There didn't seem to be anyone older than nine years old but younger than their late thirties. Indeed there was a great deal of young children and middle aged and older men and women.

As the minutes wore on Cedrea was sure they would be nearing their destination soon and turned her attention to the street signs. The signs hung at every corner from slender posts with arms carved like wands, below which were the signs themselves, suspended by two small chains. Kelly appeared to have been reading the signs the whole time, looking almost as enthralled in their new surroundings as she was. Rudolph seemed to be the only one not enjoying himself and taking every opportunity to take in as much of the experience as he could. Though very often hard to read, as he displayed less emotion on his face than most, Cedrea was sure he was not enjoying himself and if it had not been for her would not have come. In fact, something about his expression suggested to Cedrea that he was incredibly uncomfortable.

"An interestin' place, this." Kelly said, this uncharacteristically being the first thing said by either he or Rudolph for quite a while. "A lot bigger than it's made out ta be, isn't it? And, all the streets seem ta be named after notable witches or wizards in history." Kelly added just as Cedrea read the sign for the street they were passing: _Bones Blvd_. History of Magic was his best and favorite subject. She found it rather dull but had noticed the names sounded familiar and now knew why.

"I wonder how many people live here, it iscertainly larger than I would have thought it could be for the space allotted." said Rudolph looking, like the other two, at the street signs.

It was another few minutes before they reached and started down the somewhat narrow street that was Albus End. It became clear while they walked towards the end of the street keeping an eye on the house numbers that Albus End was of a slightly higher quality and upkeep than the rest of the village.

Near the end of the street, which ended in a wide culdesac, they came upon number 7. It was a rather quaint little two level house with a large, unkempt front garden that had waist height grass growing on either side of the front walk and a sizable vegetable patch on the left side of the house. The house and garden were completely enclosed by a low, yellow fence that was only inches taller than the grass it contained. Number 7 was in sharp contrast to the homes surrounding it which had gardens that were, for wizards, well trimmed and few of which possessed fences.

Rudolph unlatched the garden gate and pushed it open, allowing Cedrea and Kelly to go before him. The front walk was made of multicolored flagstone and was almost perfectly straight on its path to the front door. Cedrea was the first to reach number 7's front stoop and, deciding that since she had been given the letter it was her duty, promptly knocked. She heard no movement and no one answered.

"Perhaps they didn' hear, knock again." Kelly suggested. Cedrea initially hesitated, weary, from the condition of the front garden the occupant might well be old and require more time to get to the door. After a few minutes and insisting from Kelly, however, she knocked a second time; ensuring that it was considerably louder than the first. This time they heard hurried scuffling from inside and the door was flung open to reveal a tall, gangly, and eccentric looking elderly wizard with long dull red hair. The wizard had a kind face, was wearing worn emerald green robes and was leaning almost two feet out the doorway with his hands on the frame for support; looking to each of them in turn.

"My word, look at them!" The wizard said, almost as if he thought they couldn't hear him as he cocked his head strangely to the side. "I wonder if they are here for a reason or if they just knock on people's doors for fun?"

The wizard leaned even farther out the door, as far as his arms would allow him, bringing his face inches away from Cedrea's. She immediately retracted, rather alarmed. Rudolph tensed up next to her and drew a little closer. The old wizard was now shifting his eyes rapidly between the three, trying to take them all in. The threesome cast awkward looks from the wizard to one-another.

"So can I do something for you young sir?" He said suddenly, jerking his head to look directly at Rudolph.

"Not for him, but maybe for me you can." Cedrea spoke up; he jerked his head to look at her now.

The wizard stared at her for a moment and then opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, however, a woman's voice called from inside the house; a loving, motherly tone. "Fred, dear, whose at the door. Let me see." He pulled himself back into the house as a short and plumb elderly woman appeared at his side. The woman saw the three dazed looks on their faces and greeted them with a kind smile, the equal of which Cedrea had never see and she instantly felt welcomed. The wizard retreated back into the house; mumbling something about what he needed to do.

"What can I do for you dears?" the woman said with another smile. She was as old as the man if not a bit older, wore and variety or different colors mixed strangely on her robes and had the same kind face and faded red hair.

"We're just here to deliver a letter, ma'am." said Cedrea, pulling the letter from her robes and handing it to the again smiling woman.

"Thank you, dear. Please come in, all of you." She said and Cedrea and Kelly politely obliged and returned her many smiles. Kelly appeared to like this nice old woman as much as Cedrea did. Rudolph was strangely staring at his feet as he entered.

"You know Fred and I were just about to have lunch, we have more than enough and there is no way you three darlings will make it back to the castle in time to eat. Would you like to stay and have a bite before returning?" she asked, looking delighted at the prospect at having three young companions join her for lunch.

"We'd love ta, I'm starving! What are we having?!" Kelly said almost before she had finished the question, his face alight; Cedrea sniggered and he quickly grew red with his zeal. "I mean, if you're sure you have enough."

"I have plenty, now come on!" she said, maneuvering behind them and herding them down the hallway, past a couple doors, a staircase that went up and to the right, and into the dinning room with an adjoining kitchen. The man whom had greeted them, Fred, was already seated at the large table that could accommodate at least twelve people; a pot of potato soup, a loaf of French bread, and a large dish of butter set upon the table.

The woman waved her wand and place settings for three more appeared. "Have a seat." She added as three chairs pulled themselves out from the table. The three sat down.

Cedrea and Kelly were quite enjoying themselves and neither could wait to have a real home cooked meal; especially Cedrea who had not had one in years. But Rudolph looked extremely uncomfortable and had not stopped looking at his own feet; he had become very quiet. He had barely said a thing since they entered the village. This made Cedrea quite confused.

"If I might ma'am," Kelly began as the woman took the five bowls, ladled soup into each and returned it. "Your husband seems a bit, mad. No offense intended sir." Kelly added quickly, realizing how rude this sounded.

"None took my young fellow!" Fred said exuberantly without looking at him. He was stirring his soup with a large piece of bread.

"Oh aren't you such a dear to say something like that!" The woman said warmly with a broad smile. The amount this statement confused him and Cedrea was evident on their faces; Rudolph was staring out a nearby window.

"He is not my husband, dear, he is my son." She said, pinching Kelly's cheek lightly. "You're so sweet to an old woman."

Kelly had a bewildered look on his face from not only having his cheek pinched for the first time in his life, but from the thought that this man was this woman's son. Cedrea too was a bit bewildered. She looked from him then to her. There didn't seem more than a few years difference in their ages. Cedrea thought that _she _could only hope to age so gracefully.

"Now everyone, tuck in!" the woman said, sitting across from Cedrea and next to Fred.

Cedrea had only had potato soup once before in her life and though it had been many years ago she found this soup to be far superior and indeed some of the best soup she could remember having. The Bread was also very delicious and fresh.

"My word, where _is _my head today!" The woman said a few moments later. "We have not even introduced ourselves yet. My Name is Molly Weasley, and this is my _son _Fred." Fred said nothing at his introduction and continued with his meal.

"O', I gus we aven't." Kelly said through a mouth full of bread and soup. He swallowed before continuing. "Name's Kelly Conners, pleased to meet you, the food is excellent."

Molly Weasley smiled at Kelly. "You remind me of my youngest son."

"My name is Rudolph Polov." He said quickly, speaking to his soup.

"And mine is Cedrea Diggory." Said Cedrea and though Molly gave them each a cheery smile in turn, Cedrea thought she had faltered for a moment after Rudolph had introduced himself. However, she thought she might have imagined it.

The meal went quite pleasantly. Cedrea found the food and the company to be very excellent. Mrs. Weasley had a large family, something none of them had any experience with, and she had many amusing stories concerning them. The most humorous of which were several about Fred and his twin brother George when they were younger and attending school. She admitted at the time that she had found the two's pranks aggravating and rather immature, but now could see them for their sheer hilarity and often genius.

Fred Himself scarcely spoke during lunch. He kept his speaking mostly to the occasional off hand comment and seemingly random mumblings about a joke shop and a deadline that was swiftly approaching. Only Mrs. Weasley seemed to have the faintest idea what he was talking about.

By the end of the meal, Cedrea felt she had eaten entirely more than she should have. She had not been the one of their group to eat the most, though, that honor went to Kelly. He had finished with the rest of them but had eaten at twice the rate, having consumed three full bowls of soup and two large slices of bread to Cedrea's bowl and a half and two much smaller slices of bread. Rudolph had barely eaten one bowl but had finally looked away from the window.

Mrs. Weasley promptly began clearing the table with the vigor of a much younger woman. Cedrea offered to help and Mrs. Weasley adamantly refused, saying she was happy to do it as she hadn't had anyone to serve in a very long time and it reminded her of when her children were young.

"I'll have to be going now, mum. George wants that new product done by the time he gets back." Fred said standing and walking to his mother and kissing her on the cheek.

"Of course he does, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, kissing and hugging him tightly before letting him go.

Fred walked down the hall looking thoroughly enthralled in his own thoughts, mumbling things about a toxin to antidote ratio that needed fixing.

The dinning room was not left silent in Fred's absence for long. Soon the four were talking again. Even Rudolph contributed a few sentences when Mrs. Weasley began discussing school and mentioned that many of her children had been quite good at Quidditch when is school. It was this that led to a long friendly argument between Kelly and Cedrea on the subject great Quidditch players of the previous century. This greatly amused Mrs. Weasley. Afterwards the conversation moved to the topic of favorite subjects and teachers, and what they liked best about the school. Cedrea found that the more time she spent there the more she was enjoying it.

"Oh, most definitely!" Cedrea said, agreeing with Kelly. "Professor Longbottom has to be the nicest man I've ever met."

"Yes, Neville has always been a very kind person." Said Mrs. Weasley.

"You know Professor Longbottom?" said Kelly.

"Quite well." She replied. "I've known most of the teachers since well before the school was started." She smiled.

"Professor Longbottom may be very likable but that doesn't mean they all are." Cedrea said contemptuously and Kelly rolled his eyes and Rudolph sighed.

"Not this again, especially not now. Please?" Rudolph said with a tired look on his face.

"He's not as bad as you think he is." Said Kelly

"He _is_ as bad as I think he is! He's mean and bitter!" Cedrea said defiantly, knowing her opinion was outnumbered.

"I'm afraid I am missing whom you are talking about, dears." said Mrs. Weasley.

"We're talking about Potter." said Cedrea savagely.

"That's _Professor _Potter, ya' know! And he's a great man!" Kelly said angrily.

"That's right, I forgot that you were in love with – That's enough! – " Mrs. Weasley had interrupted, with a surprising amount of force behind her words which were directed mostly at Cedrea.

"There is something you must understand about Harry, dear. Yes… I've known him for a long time too." She added to answer the surprised looks the three had gotten to the use of his first name. "I've known him since he was eleven and he was best friends with my youngest son, and I consider him no less than one of my own children." She paused. "He has led a very difficult and painful life. He has lost far too many people he has loved. I won't deny that this has made him a very angry and sometimes tactless person. But I've always known him to be very kind and selfless, however rarely those traits show themselves these days."

"Poor baby!" Cedrea said with an unnecessary amount of malice in her voice. "We've all had tough lives, especially the teachers. But you don't see all of them having a bad attitude about everything and picking on students. And Potter seems to have something against me in particular!"

"Dear," Mrs. Weasley said with the air of a woman losing her resolve to defend her opinion. "Did you know Professor Potter was with your uncle when he was murdered?"

"So what? Is that supposed to make me all the sudden like him?" She said fiercely.

Mrs. Weasley looked as if she had meant to add more which would make things clear.

"I think that is quite enough, Cedrea!" Rudolph spoke up, getting to his feet. "I think it is time for us to be getting back to the castle. Thank you for the excellent meal Mrs. Weasley."

"You are very welcome, dear. And I agree, I think it would be best for you three to get back, you shouldn't be out too long." Mrs. Weasley said disappointedly, standing and pulling the letter Cedrea had delivered out of her pocket.

Rudolph lightly grabbed Cedrea's arm and prompted her out of her chair. Kelly stood too and made to say goodbye when he saw the worry filled look on Mrs. Weasley face.

"Is something wrong, has something happened?" Kelly said instead.

"What? Oh… no… no…" Mrs. Weasley said looking up from the letter she had been reading and changing her face to a smile. "I have a friend who teaches at a school in America and he just sent me a letter telling me about an amusing bit of trouble they had the other day. Nothing serious... Well, good day. Do visit again." She said and turned and walked into the kitchen, clutching the letter tightly.

Cedrea could tell she was lying but said nothing more and left with Kelly and Rudolph to head back to the castle. Rudolph's hand still around her arm.


End file.
